Our 3830 Comments:

We were thrilled to welcome K6ZH and his XYL Joan (N6KIM) to PJ2T for the first time. Poor Jim, I buttonholed him coming out of a bathroon in Sequoia National Park last April after Visalia, introduced myself, and by the end of the conversation he was seriously considering coming to PJ2T. This trip was the result. We're also happy to have John, N4QQ operating this weekend in his first contest as a CCC member.

Our top rate hour was Hour 1, with about 40 good minutes on 20 and then a quick change to 80 to round out the hour. The other radio was, of course, on 40. That first hour netted 357 QSOs. From there on the first night was a slog with high noise until about 0300Z. A was 4 and K was 3, so it was not a highly productive night. Saturday morning 20 opened to US/VE as expected at around 1130Z, but we waited another hour and a half for 15, and it was thready all day. 20 was the money band. Saturday night was even worse, and we agonized through a slow and noisy night, waiting for light and morning high band rate. Morning high band rate never happened. For over an hour we were a M/2 with only one good band, 40. No Qs anywhere else. 15 did not open to the States until 1100 local (!), 1500Z. Finally, though, because conditions from US/VE to Europe were so poor, beams turned south and we had some terrific rates on 15.

 One of the bigger thrills of the contest was working VY1EI on three bands for an unexpected mult. Eric operates from a trailer in the snowy woods, exactly the rustic image of Yukon contesting that we all hold in our minds. Sunday all day the team hovered over the 10 meter radio, hoping to make a few more Qs to add to N5OT's 5 contacts from Saturday, all of which were made on a Europe antenna. Finally the MUF map suggested that we might have a shot, and around 2115Z we had an 80 minute opening, unstable and thready, but good enough to put 28 mults and the 132 Qs into the log on 10. Nothing whatsoever to W7, though, except a lot of AZ stations. We were watching the spots during that time and it did not appear that out other Caribbean neighbors were as lucky with that opening.

 Thanks as always to the members of our CCC club (www.pj2t.org) who make this operation possible, now in our ninth year. Two weeks ago we had five linears, three PCs, and three transceivers down for maintenance. Thanks to good teamwork, however, we were able to get enough stuff working to do this contest. If this score holds up, it will be PJ2T's 12th ARRL DX contest win in a row in our chosen categories. Maybe ONE OF THESE DAYS we will get some conditions back and have some real fun on the radio again. Meanwhile, thanks to all who took the trouble to put PJ2T into your logs.

See you in ARRL SSB in a couple of weeks with K4UEE and his team, including ARRL's Mary Hobart, K1MMH, operating PJ2T, Multi/Multi.

73, - Geoff, W0CG, PJ2DX